It is a sad day when governors and local representatives need to take a stand against the potential beginnings of martial law. We did see this coming but that doesn’t lessen the blow and the feelings of horror. The Trump administration is destroying the safety and decency of our nation.
Speaking for myself personally, I agree with you. As for the Chronicle, I have asked conservatives and Republicans in Croton repeatedly to submit Guest Editorials supporting Trump administration policies, and I will publish them—including on this issue—if they are submitted and are factually based. So far I have not had one such submission despite repeated invitations since Trump was elected.
Thanks, Dana. I especially appreciate the comment about working to fix immigration policy instead of using removing undocumented people as a rallying cry to stir up fear and hatred and advance a totalitarian agenda.
Undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $100 billion in federal, state and local taxes and receive few benefits. This is more than big corporations and the ultra rich pay, even though they need their tax breaks!
Immigrants are also the back bone of the agricultural, dairy and construction industry, which are already being severely hobbled by fearful workers not showing up to work. You would think that under the theory that immigrants are taking these jobs from Americans that this vacuum would be quickly filled. It's not.
Imagine, if we had a policy that laid out clear, enforceable guidelines that made citizenship reasonably attainable, and respected immigrants as human beings instead of instead of objects. Of course today, even those who have jumped through the hoops of citizenship are being arrested and detained so that Trump's promise to his followers of deporting a million people in a year can be met.
There is a good reason for police to wear uniforms and marked vehicles, including ICE. All sides are safer when police officers detaining and abducting are properly uniformed.
Even the Croton Police have started using "ghost" police cars that are barely marked in dark gray on black. The Croton Police's black F-150 with stealth markings seems to be a deliberate attempt to deceive drivers. Would you stop for an unmarked car?
Other countries have restrictions on enforcing some laws to uniformed officers in marked cars. This is the sort of practical thing legislators could get some broad consensus on. We could start here in Croton by eliminating the stealth police vehicles.
Far closer to home than California, the Croton-Harmon School District Board of Education was the last Board in the whole of New York State with overt discrimination against non-citizens. Hate had a home here in Croton. Anti-immigrant discrimination was written into the bylaw policies by the trustees.
After my own immigrant children had been initially excluded by staff citing these policies, I had lobbied the Board for many years with suggestions and edits, and they refused to remove the discriminatory policies. Only after the NYS AG recently launched a campaign to end discrimination in schools, and the NYS AG attorneys spoke to me about enforcement against the Croton-Harmon School District, did the Board of Education suddenly and belatedly act. Neil Haber had to re-write his own policies to remove the restrictions. Whilst the BOE stated their goals to review the use of "citizen", they never said why they were suddenly acting now on so many policies.
There is one overt piece of of non-citizen discrimination still maintained by the Board of Education, and that is the Croton-Harmon Athletics Code of Conduct: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1689577708/chufsdorg/f8sgb3ldkcz8afynpjoh/CrotonAthleticCodeofConduct3117.pdf. The first line of the Parent and Player agreement, that both parents and student have to sign states: "Participation in an interscholastic athletic program is a privilege granted to students who maintain scholarship and citizenship....". I refused to sign such a false statement and my son was excluded from soccer. The coaches and teachers encouraged me to complain to the Board of Education about the hateful policies.
As immigrants, my family has suffered far more exclusion from the Croton-Harmon Board of Education than all other government organizations in the USA.
We are living in difficult times, and it is leaders like Dana Levenberg who have the courage to speak truth to power. We, who have learned our history, will say,”Not on our watch.”
Unfortunately this statement is what is wrong with the Democratic Party today.
Ms Levenburg trots out the same narrative as the others in her party that somehow enforcing federal immigration laws is terror inducing.
It would be nice if there was some factual basis for her comments that predators are coping ICE tactics and that children are being ripped away from their parents, let alone threats against Americans. Fear mongering at its best.
Due process, to the extent an illegal migrant has a right to it is exactly what is happening. An arrest and then a hearing before an immigration court. Then deportation.
You can click the link in the paragraph you referenced to read a news report about an incident of someone impersonating ICE to sexually assault a woman. You can Google and find others. Similarly there are many stories at this point about students, including at least two in New York, being taken away. Here is one: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/queens-high-school-student-detained-ice/
Please remember the Comments policy for this publication and keep your comments polite and respectful. There have been many cases of U.S. citizens being caught up in ICE raids, including during earlier administrations.
As I watch both CNN and FOX to get a fair balance on what I am seeing. The one thing I notice on both channels is in showing the crowds I can count on one hand the number of American flags the protestors are waving and all the rest of flags shown are from the countries of the protestor. If your desire is to love and live in USA then I do not think this benefits your cause. You cannot have a country where laws are not obeyed by either the President or the people coming illegally. I think both this President and the former President have handled the immigration policy in totally the wrong way. We seem to forget all the rules my parents and many others had to follow to get here and they did. It seems wisdom and respect for the law has disintegrated through the years.
Facts regarding immigration do not matter to some Democrats The fact that they are expending political capital on this issue is astonishing. This a losing issue for the Democrats. Hard to understand why they are so invested in this?
"President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has sparked violent protests in Los Angeles and in other cities. But voters nationwide are giving him some of his best marks on immigration policy.
In a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted June 4-6, 54% of Americans said they approved of Trump's deporation policy, and 50% approved of how he's handling immigration"..
Wow, the increased ICE activity and strong man act Trump gets to put on couldn't come at a better time. If we weren't worried about the turd Reich, we'd be forced to talk about Elon revealing why trump hasn't released the Epstein files!
The fact that Mr Rogers was “temporarily suspended “ for a completely respectfully worded post tells me all I need to know about this forum and its bias
His comment was in clear violation of the stated comments policy, and he has repeatedly violated the policy. He’s lucky he hasn’t been banned completely. No one is forcing you to read the chronicle nor to comment here.
No, I’m not going to discuss somebody else’s deleted post nor continue this discussion with you. Try to follow the guidelines as best you can and I’ll let you know if you violate them. We also have a low tolerance for trolling.. what I can tell you is that personal attacks or very broad characterizations of entire groups are likely to be violations
It is a sad day when governors and local representatives need to take a stand against the potential beginnings of martial law. We did see this coming but that doesn’t lessen the blow and the feelings of horror. The Trump administration is destroying the safety and decency of our nation.
Speaking for myself personally, I agree with you. As for the Chronicle, I have asked conservatives and Republicans in Croton repeatedly to submit Guest Editorials supporting Trump administration policies, and I will publish them—including on this issue—if they are submitted and are factually based. So far I have not had one such submission despite repeated invitations since Trump was elected.
Thanks, Dana. I especially appreciate the comment about working to fix immigration policy instead of using removing undocumented people as a rallying cry to stir up fear and hatred and advance a totalitarian agenda.
Undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $100 billion in federal, state and local taxes and receive few benefits. This is more than big corporations and the ultra rich pay, even though they need their tax breaks!
https://taxpolicycenter.org/fiscal-facts/yes-undocumented-immigrants-pay-taxes-and-receive-few-tax-benefits
Immigrants are also the back bone of the agricultural, dairy and construction industry, which are already being severely hobbled by fearful workers not showing up to work. You would think that under the theory that immigrants are taking these jobs from Americans that this vacuum would be quickly filled. It's not.
Imagine, if we had a policy that laid out clear, enforceable guidelines that made citizenship reasonably attainable, and respected immigrants as human beings instead of instead of objects. Of course today, even those who have jumped through the hoops of citizenship are being arrested and detained so that Trump's promise to his followers of deporting a million people in a year can be met.
I’ve deleted a comment that violated the policy requiring people to be respectful and polite, and especially concerning other people’s views.
Thank you Dana. I wish it were not necessary for you to write this, but it is exceedingly necessary in these troubling times.
There is a good reason for police to wear uniforms and marked vehicles, including ICE. All sides are safer when police officers detaining and abducting are properly uniformed.
Even the Croton Police have started using "ghost" police cars that are barely marked in dark gray on black. The Croton Police's black F-150 with stealth markings seems to be a deliberate attempt to deceive drivers. Would you stop for an unmarked car?
Other countries have restrictions on enforcing some laws to uniformed officers in marked cars. This is the sort of practical thing legislators could get some broad consensus on. We could start here in Croton by eliminating the stealth police vehicles.
Far closer to home than California, the Croton-Harmon School District Board of Education was the last Board in the whole of New York State with overt discrimination against non-citizens. Hate had a home here in Croton. Anti-immigrant discrimination was written into the bylaw policies by the trustees.
At the Board Meeting of April 10th 2025, they held the Second and Final Reading of changes to remove the final eight policy bylaws discriminating against non-citizens, by striking restrictions to citizens: https://go.boarddocs.com/ny/chufsd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DF6H3J465585.
The Croton-Harmon Board of Education was also the last Board in NYS to remove restrictions on school attendance based on visa status, immigration status, national origin, and permanency of residency. They had to make huge changes to their policy bylaw: https://go.boarddocs.com/ny/chufsd/Board.nsf/files/DEGJAX4C4A6D/$file/Policy%205152.1--Admission%20of%20Foreign%20Students%20FOR%20SECOND%20READING%203-13-25.pdf.
Neal Haber had drafted this discriminatory policy back in 2011: https://go.boarddocs.com/ny/chufsd/Board.nsf/files/CQBRP36A5578/$file/2011-03-28--Policy%20Committee%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf.
After my own immigrant children had been initially excluded by staff citing these policies, I had lobbied the Board for many years with suggestions and edits, and they refused to remove the discriminatory policies. Only after the NYS AG recently launched a campaign to end discrimination in schools, and the NYS AG attorneys spoke to me about enforcement against the Croton-Harmon School District, did the Board of Education suddenly and belatedly act. Neil Haber had to re-write his own policies to remove the restrictions. Whilst the BOE stated their goals to review the use of "citizen", they never said why they were suddenly acting now on so many policies.
There is one overt piece of of non-citizen discrimination still maintained by the Board of Education, and that is the Croton-Harmon Athletics Code of Conduct: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1689577708/chufsdorg/f8sgb3ldkcz8afynpjoh/CrotonAthleticCodeofConduct3117.pdf. The first line of the Parent and Player agreement, that both parents and student have to sign states: "Participation in an interscholastic athletic program is a privilege granted to students who maintain scholarship and citizenship....". I refused to sign such a false statement and my son was excluded from soccer. The coaches and teachers encouraged me to complain to the Board of Education about the hateful policies.
As immigrants, my family has suffered far more exclusion from the Croton-Harmon Board of Education than all other government organizations in the USA.
Matthew, thank you for posting this saga here publicly. I think it will be a real eye opener for many. Look for an email from me shortly.
Thank you, Dana for making this strong statement. The cruelty is just unconscionable. We cannot allow this to become normal.
We are living in difficult times, and it is leaders like Dana Levenberg who have the courage to speak truth to power. We, who have learned our history, will say,”Not on our watch.”
Unfortunately this statement is what is wrong with the Democratic Party today.
Ms Levenburg trots out the same narrative as the others in her party that somehow enforcing federal immigration laws is terror inducing.
It would be nice if there was some factual basis for her comments that predators are coping ICE tactics and that children are being ripped away from their parents, let alone threats against Americans. Fear mongering at its best.
Due process, to the extent an illegal migrant has a right to it is exactly what is happening. An arrest and then a hearing before an immigration court. Then deportation.
Pretty simple
You can click the link in the paragraph you referenced to read a news report about an incident of someone impersonating ICE to sexually assault a woman. You can Google and find others. Similarly there are many stories at this point about students, including at least two in New York, being taken away. Here is one: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/queens-high-school-student-detained-ice/
Oh, so it happened once? A little cherry picking now might be the apt description. By that metric every migrant is a sexual predator
Please remember the Comments policy for this publication and keep your comments polite and respectful. There have been many cases of U.S. citizens being caught up in ICE raids, including during earlier administrations.
As I watch both CNN and FOX to get a fair balance on what I am seeing. The one thing I notice on both channels is in showing the crowds I can count on one hand the number of American flags the protestors are waving and all the rest of flags shown are from the countries of the protestor. If your desire is to love and live in USA then I do not think this benefits your cause. You cannot have a country where laws are not obeyed by either the President or the people coming illegally. I think both this President and the former President have handled the immigration policy in totally the wrong way. We seem to forget all the rules my parents and many others had to follow to get here and they did. It seems wisdom and respect for the law has disintegrated through the years.
Facts regarding immigration do not matter to some Democrats The fact that they are expending political capital on this issue is astonishing. This a losing issue for the Democrats. Hard to understand why they are so invested in this?
"President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has sparked violent protests in Los Angeles and in other cities. But voters nationwide are giving him some of his best marks on immigration policy.
In a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted June 4-6, 54% of Americans said they approved of Trump's deporation policy, and 50% approved of how he's handling immigration"..
Wow, the increased ICE activity and strong man act Trump gets to put on couldn't come at a better time. If we weren't worried about the turd Reich, we'd be forced to talk about Elon revealing why trump hasn't released the Epstein files!
Is this what we are talking about A government post online said agents arrested Marlon Josuel Cruz Fernandez in New Rochelle on Monday.
Officials said he is from the Dominican Republic and was wanted in his home country for homicide.
The fact that Mr Rogers was “temporarily suspended “ for a completely respectfully worded post tells me all I need to know about this forum and its bias
His comment was in clear violation of the stated comments policy, and he has repeatedly violated the policy. He’s lucky he hasn’t been banned completely. No one is forcing you to read the chronicle nor to comment here.
Perhaps you can steer me to the comments policy?
Stated at the bottom of every single post
I read them. Perhaps you could tell me which guideline he violated?
No, I’m not going to discuss somebody else’s deleted post nor continue this discussion with you. Try to follow the guidelines as best you can and I’ll let you know if you violate them. We also have a low tolerance for trolling.. what I can tell you is that personal attacks or very broad characterizations of entire groups are likely to be violations
It is what was construed to be a personal attack on Ms Levenburg. I disagree but Michael Balter controls the press in this case.
Lucky?